Bea Reviews Her Last Word by Mary Burton

Publisher: Montlake Romance
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 8th, 2018
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | iBooks* |
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Blurb from goodreads:

An unsolved crime pits a desperate woman against a relentless killer in New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton’s heart-stopping novel of psychological suspense…

Fourteen years ago, Kaitlin Roe was the lone witness to the abduction of her cousin Gina. She still remembers that lonely Virginia road. She can still see the masked stranger and hear Gina’s screams. And she still suffers the guilt of running away in fear and resents being interrogated as a suspect in the immediate aftermath. Now Kaitlin has only one way to assuage the pain and nightmares—by interviewing everyone associated with the unsolved crime for a podcast that could finally bring closure to a case gone cold.

But when a woman Kaitlin questions is later found stabbed to death, she fears that she’s drawn a killer out of hiding. It’s Detective John Adler’s fear that the murders have only just begun. Now his job is to keep Kaitlin safe.

As a bond between Kaitlin and Adler builds, the past closes in just as fast—and it’s darker than Kaitlin remembers. Soon, her wish will come true. She’s going to find out exactly what happened to Gina. Someone has been dying to tell her.

My Thoughts:

Mary Burton has become one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. I like the Southern settings, her voice, and her mix of romance and mystery. I appreciate that the romances are typically low-key. I do enjoy fast-paced romances but those are du jour in RS while low-key is not. The change of pace is pleasant.

Years ago, Kaitlin Roe was a witness to her cousin Gina's abduction. Gina was never seen again and no one was charged with her kidnapping. Kaitlin was a wild teen with a drug and alcohol problem that only got worse after Gina's disappearance. But Kaitlin has finally gotten her life back together and now wants to make a documentary about Gina’s case herself. She hopes that by interviewing people from way back when, some new bit of information might be revealed. But one of the people Kaitlin interviewed about Gina turns up dead, murdered. Detective John Adler, who's working the case, is concerned that Gina’s disappearance may be tied to the case and that Kaitlin may be in danger.

Burton alternated transcripts of the interviews with current events, and alternated POVs between Kaitlin and John. There are hints sprinkled in as to the identity of the current killer but even so it took me by surprise. The story was engaging, the characters realistically flawed, and the killer's revenge sly and well thought out. While the story was engaging, the interview format was disjointed at times and sometimes I had to double check the time to see when events were happening. But I liked Kaitlin; her determination, her ability to admit her flaws, her courage, and her humor. Also interesting was the story of John's former police partner and I hope we'll see more of him in a future book.

"Her Last Word" was a fast-paced, suspenseful story with interesting characters. I was turning the pages in a rush to see what would happen next.